Family
by ballistics belle
Summary: Danny and Kate are engaged and very happy. But can their love endure the wrath of the Messer clan? Sequal to It Was You.
1. Mommy dearest

Summary: Danny and Kate are engaged and very happy. But can their love endure the wrath of the Messer clan?

A/N: Here we are once again. We get to meet Danny's family and all I'm going to say is, they're New York Italians, and Kate's not. You do the math

_'When it's family, you accept them because you have no choice but to.' -Dolly Parton, Family._

Danny had been sound asleep when the phone rang. He dreaded answering it. It was one of his rare days off and he really didn't' want to go in. But if he didn't answer it and it was a real emergency, he would feel like a total ass. Reaching across the nightstand, he pulled the phone off its charger and answered.

"Messer."

"Oh thank god. I have been calling and calling and you never answer. I thought something bad had happened to you. Why would you do that to me, Daniel? I don't understand you sometimes." A heavily accented woman's voice rang through loudly from the other line.

"Ma?"

"What, you don't even recognize your own mother's voice now?" Danny rolled his eyes. It was most definitely his mother. No one was as dramatic as Angela Messer.

"Of course not, Ma. I could never forget your voice. What's up?"

"Do I have to have a reason to call my baby boy?" She inquired.

"You usually do."

"Don't be a smart aleck, Daniel. I am simply calling to request your presence at your niece Christianizing. All your siblings will be there and Ava wants to make you Daniella's godfather. And bring that girl of yours. I want to meet the woman you plan on bring into this family." Angela demanded.

Danny had to suppress his groan. A family gathering with Kate in tow was not going to end well. But they would have to meet eventually. He couldn't plan to spend forever with her and not have them cross paths.

"Alright, Ma. We'll be there." He agreed reluctantly.

"Oh good. It's Sunday at 9am at St. Anthony's. You know the one by the house? And please, Daniel, don't be late." Her voice sweetened once she had him hooked.

"Okay, Sunday at 9. Bye, Ma." He hung up before she could rope him into something else. As he flopped back down onto his pillow, he ran a hand over his face. This was going to be a nightmare.


	2. The Messer Bunch

**The Messer Bunch**

A/N: Wow, it's been a really long time since I updated this one. Real life is constantly getting in the way and things don't look much better with school starting up again. Anyways, I've kind of been struggling with my muse on this story but I think I know how it's going to work out.

_I've got seven kids. The three words you hear most around my house are 'hello,' 'goodbye,' and 'I'm pregnant'__ -- __Dean Martin_

"Kat, come on. We're going to be late!" Danny yelled down the hall to his fiancé. Sunday had arrived much to his dismay and Kate was fussing over the way she looked. "Kat, let's go!" He hollered again and was rewarded with her presence.

"Will you quit yelling at me? I heard you the first time." She sassed as she walked past him, her heels clattering against the hardwood floor.

"I'm sorry. I just want to leave so we can get there and get this over with." He handed her her coat and then practically dragged her out of the apartment.

"Give me a rundown of everyone who's going to be there." She requested as they took their seats on the subway.

"You ready for this? You might want to take notes." Kate rolled her eyes as he started. "Angela and Louie are my parents. She's a housewife who spends most of her day in the kitchen like a good Italian woman should. Big Louie is, well, he's a mobster with a big ego and a short temper."

"Now I know where you get it from." She winked. He ignored her and continued on.

"There are six of us kids. Ava is the oldest. She's married to Anthony and they have three girls; Maribella, Gabriella and Daniella. Daniella is the one being christened." He paused to make sure she got all of that.

"Ava, Anthony, three girls, got it."

"Alright, Michael is the next oldest. He's married to Anna and they have a girl and a boy; Isabella and Vincent. After Michael is Adrianna. She's married to Dominique and they're expecting their first baby soon. Then there's my brother, Louie. Not married and probably never will be. Next comes you and me and finally is my baby sister, Giada. Also single." Danny tried not to laugh at the expression across his wife-to-be's face. She had a deer in the head lights look.

"I'm never going to get all that right. Danny, that's fifteen people, not including us. How do you keep everyone straight?" She inquired, as she realized how in over her head she was. He couldn't bite back the smile as he dropped the real bomb on her.

"You think that's bad? Those are just the people who are going to be at the christening. There still the family dinner afterwards."


	3. A House Divided

**A House Divided**

A/N: Now we truly get to meet Danny's family and they finally get to meet our girl and let's just say, there's mixed emotions.

_If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.- Mark (ch. III, v. 25) _

She watched him with a contented gaze. Giada couldn't help but notice this as she analyzed her soon-to-be-sister-in-law. He was holding their newest niece, Daniella, and playing peek-a-boo with her. Giada crept up silently next to Kate.

"He's a natural." She commented, not bothering to suppress her giggles as she watched Kate jump. "I'm Giada, the baby of the Messer siblings." She held out her hand to the blonde. "You must be my brothers' fiancé."

"Katharyne Baker, but everyone calls me Kate." She smiled pleasantly as she shook the other woman's hand.

"Well I'm glad to finally meet you, Kate. And I want to congratulate you on accomplishing the impossible. I didn't think anyone would ever be able to tie him down." Kate blushed.

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for blue eyed blondes." Danny explained as he wrapped his arms around his fiancés' waist.

"And here I thought you loved me for my brains and personality." She said, pretending to be offended. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Come on. I want to introduce you to the rest of my family." Keeping one arm around her waist, he guided her towards a large gathering. "Guys, I want you to meet my fiancé, Katharyne Baker. Kat, this is Ava, Michael, Adrianna and….. where's Louie?" They all shook their heads.

"I haven't seen him since we left the church." Adrianna informed. She removed one of her hands from her enlarged belly and held it out to Kate. "Welcome to the family. We're all so glad to have you."

"Not all of us." Michael muttered under his breath. Ava elbowed him in the ribs. "What? Ma-"

"Needs help in the kitchen. Why don't you join us?" Ava smiled and lead Kate away by the arm. Over her shoulder, she shot death glares at Michael.

"So, what do you think of her?" Danny asked once they were out of ear shot.

"She's great." Adrianna started.

"But?" Danny knew it was coming.

"But Ma can't stand her. She's not like us." Michael stated honestly.

"So, just because she's not from New York and she talks with a different accent, she's not good enough to become a Messer?" He asked, more than a little agitated.

"No, honey. That's not what we meant. She's just different, that's all. And you know that Mommy doesn't do change very well." Adrianna tried to explain but Danny was past reasoning. He knew that Kate didn't exactly fit in with his family, but he never thought that they would be shallow enough to hate her because of it.

Unable to take anymore of their excuses, he stormed off leaving his two older siblings behind.

"Oh Mikey, I don't like where this is going. I don't like it one bit. He's going to be faced with an ultimatum he's not going to like." Adrianna shook her head.

"What is it?"

"Her or us."

b

Ava was torn. She really liked Kate and was really happy for her and Danny. But she also knew how her mother felt about the newcomer and as the oldest, she felt obligated to stand by her mother.

"So Kate, Danny tells me you guys already set a date." Ava mentioned, breaking the horrible silence that filled the large kitchen. Kate nodded.

"September 23rd. It's the day we first met." She replied.

"Wow. That's only like two months away."

"Danny and I didn't want to have a really long engagement. We didn't see a reason for it. We were ready to make this comment." Ava and Kate chattered on about wedding details and neither woman noticed the fire burning in the older woman's eyes. Angela's mind was made up. Katharyne Baker was a dangerous and fast spreading disease. And she needed to be dealt with quickly.

b

The house was empty again. All the children and grandchildren were gone. The only sound heard was that of the spoon hitting the edge of Angela's mug. She sat with her husband in the parlor while he read the paper.

"I don't like her, Louie." She stated as she set her spoon down.

"Don't like who?" He asked only half paying attention to her.

"You know who I'm talking about. Danny's fiancé, I don't like her."

"Why doesn't that surprise me? He muttered under his breath.

"I'm serious, Louis. This is our son. We can't just sit back and watch her ruin him. We have to do something." She insisted.

"What do you want me to do, Angie?" Louie asked as he set his paper aside. Angela sat back and sipped her tea.

"Find something."


	4. Between a mother and a child

**Between A Mother And A Child**

A/N: We'll get a little insight on Kate and her past. But I'm cruel, and you only get a taste but don't worry, in time all will be revealed.

'_All is not well; I doubt some foul play.'-Shakespeare, Hamlet act 1 scene 2 _

Aby couldn't resist. The opportunity was too good to let just pass by. It had been a slow day in the ER. The high July temperatures kept everyone inside and people were just too hot to get hurt. Slow days were a blessing and a curse. Less patients meant less work, but less work lead to the boredom that had taken a hold of Kate.

She sat at the nurses' desk with her feet up and her eyes glazed as she stared out into nothing. Aby snuck up behind her and placed a hand onto her shoulder.

"Dreaming about Danny again?" She asked. Kate startled awake from her trance at the sound of her friend's voice.

"His family actually." She admitted. Aby stared at her oddly.

"Alright, you're going to have to explain that one." Aby sat on the edge of the desk and crossed her arms across her chest as she waited for an answer.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"I know you're going to anyways."

"Does James' mother like you?" Aby laughed.

"Honey, no mother-in-law likes her daughter-in-law. And the ones that say they do are lying. We're a mothers' worst nightmare because their sons are only their sons until they find a wife. So naturally, the mother hates the wife….. I take it things didn't go well with Danny's family?" Aby asked, taking a wild guess.

"The rest of his family likes me; it's his mother that's got the problem. And it's more than just a casual distaste for me. The thing that really gets me is that I have no idea what I did to her that would justify her behavior." Kate explained with more than a hint of exasperation evident in her voice. Aby smiled at her knowingly.

"I know what you did. You fell in love with her youngest son, that's what you did." She pointed out. Kate shook her head.

"It's more than that. Angela Messer despises me and I damn sure am going to find out why." Kate declared.

"Speaking of mothers… how's your mom?" Aby asked carefully.

"Same as she was when I left that hellhole of a town 11 years ago." Kate replied. The bitterness of her words only went to show Aby that Kate still hadn't dealt with anything that had happened to her before she moved to New York and and from the sound of it she wasn't planning on doing so any time soon.

"People do change, you know. It isn't too late to try and mend your relationship with her." Aby suggested but the look on the other woman's face showed told her that her words were falling on deaf ears.

"People like her don't changes, Abs. You know that. And you can't fix what you never had." Kate snapped. Aby stared at her for a minute before asking one final question.

"Does Danny know?" Kate's eyes flew open as her jaw dropped.

"Of he doesn't! Are you kidding me? Danny knows what he needs to know. My mother wasn't around for me growing up. That's it and that's the way it's going to stay." Kate glared, daring her friend to challenge her. Aby just shook her head. A secret this big was bound to get out. And when it did, the consequences were going to be more than Kate was able to bear.


	5. The Bitter Truth

The Bitter Truth

_A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent. -__William Blake_

Angela was quite pleased with herself. Louie had come through for her (after a large amount of persuasion) and she couldn't have asked for better.

Armed with this information, she convinced her baby boy to meet her for lunch.

"Well, this is nice." She commented as she placed her napkin in her lap.

"Yeah, it's just great." Danny muttered as he looked around as he if was trying to find a way to escape.

"It's so rare that we get to see each other." She reached across the table and squeezed his hand.

"Ma, you just saw me 3 days ago." He pointed out. She laughed lightly.

"I meant just you and me silly. This girl of yours has just stolen you away from me." She said with a big old smile on her face. Now Danny was getting suspicious.

"Alright, what's up? You dying or something?"

"Daniel Carmine, why are you so suspicious something?" Angela shook her head.

"It's my job to be suspicious." He reminded.

"Well I don't see how you can be suspicious of me. It's your fiancé that you should suspect." She snapped suddenly. But the truth was, it had all been carefully planned. The information that she was about to share was sure to bring a quick end to something that should never have started.

"What are you mean, Ma?" He demanded.

"Well, with her mother being the way she is, it only seems natural that she'll eventually follow suit." Angela explained, feigning innocence.

"Cut the cryptic crap? What about her mother?" Danny's anger was rising but it was only a cover for how hurt he felt.

"You mean you don't know?"

"No, Ma. I don't." He snapped.

"Her poor mother is in an insane asylum for trying to kill someone." She broke the news gently and watched the sons' reaction.

Emotions flickered in his eyes like a thousand little flames. Anger. Confusion. But most of all, hurt. How could she keep something as big as this from him? It was just so unbelievable. When she said her mother wasn't around, he never thought it was because she was crazy.

"I'm sorry sweetheart." Angela reached out and put her hand over Danny's. "I thought you knew about her mother's condition. What a horrible thing to do to someone you love." She said sympathetically. Danny pulled away from and stood.

"I go to go." He muttered before rushing out. Angela flopped back. That wasn't the way she had intended for things to go.


	6. There are secrets in this life

**There are secrets in this life that I can't hide**

_When anger rises, think of the consequences. –Confucius _

Danny was furious by the time Kate got home. It was one thing for her to keep a secret from him, but to have his mother blind side him with it was something else entirely.

Kate didn't suspect a thing until she entered the kitchen and found him pacing the floor.

"Hey bab-"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" He yelled. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him in shock.

"Excuse me?"

"Who the hell do you think you are, keeping a secret that big from me? Me, you know, the guy you're going to marry." He repeated, getting angrier with every word.

"What are you talking about?" She yelled back, now pissed off by his attitude

"Were you ever going to tell me that your mother is in a nuthouse?" Kate felt like she had just been punched in the gut. How could he possibly know about that?

"Who told you?" She whispered. He didn't answer right away. "Who. Told. You. Danny?" Her voice shook as it rose in volume. Tears burned her eyes and threatened to fall if she didn't regain control quickly.

"My mother. She at least loves me enough to tell me things that I should know." Danny barked. She hung her head and closed her eyes. The words he just said hurt worst than any physical abuse ever could. She shook her head and looked him in the eye.

"Well, I'm glad I know how you really feel." Turning on her heels, she started to walk away but stopped in the doorway. "You know, you talk about getting all the evidence before coming to a conclusion and never making assumptions. But that's all it is. Talk….You don't understand, and I don't think you ever will." And with one final look, she walked out the door, leaving him behind. Danny ran a frustrated hand over his face. He'd really screwed up this time.


	7. A Frustrating Mess

**A Frustrating Mess**

_Manic depression is a frustratin' mess. - Jimi Hendrix, Manic Depression_

"Just a second!" Don pulled the shirt on over his head as he hurried to answer the insistent knocking at his front door.

"Why am I _not _happy to see you? And why don't I like the look on your face?" He asked as he slumped against the front door. Danny stood before him looking like a little kid that just found out his puppy got run over. Don stepped aside to let his friend in. Danny started to say something but Flack cut him off. "If you tell me that you screwed up and she's gone again I'm going to send you right back out the door." Danny didn't respond. "Get out." Don opened the door again.

"She's not gone…yet." Danny informed. He closed the door.

"Fine. What happened this time?" Don walked past the other man and into the kitchen, where he grabbed two beers out of the fridge. The two men then proceeded out to the balcony where two patio chairs were perfectly placed to look out over the city.

"You know I have a bad temper." Danny started. Don shook his head.

"No, you have a horrid temper. And a short fuse. What set you off?" He asked through a mouthful of beer.

"I had lunch with my ma and she dropped this bombshell on me. I don't like being caught off guard and really don't like being made a fool. And the things she told me…you don't keep things like that from the man you're going to marry." Danny said, starting to rant. Flack help up his hand to stop him.

"Freeze and rewind. What did your ma tell you?"

"Kate's mother is in an insane asylum!" He exclaimed.

"What? That can't be right." Don seemed skeptical.

"I'm dead serious." Danny stood and began to pace as he drank his beer.

"Okay, so how did that lead to a major blow out between you two?" The detective asked, not entirely sure where this story was headed.

"I freaked out on her!" Danny exclaimed as if the answer should have been obvious.

"Why? I never would have pictured you as the judgmental type." Danny ran a hand over his face.

"It wasn't the information; it was the fact that she kept it from me."

"Who knows, maybe she was ashamed of it. She had to have a good reason for not telling you." Danny shook his head.

"I don't know how things got so out of control, but I have to fix this. I lost her. I'm damn sure not going to lose her again." He flopped back down in his chair. "I need a cigarette." Don reached down next to him, grabbed something and then threw it at him. Danny looked at the two items in his lap and then at his friend.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me." Don said with eyebrows raised. "I thought you quit."

"I thought _you_ quit." Danny pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it before returning them to their owners, who copied his actions.

"I can't have you smoke alone." Don shrugged. Danny took a long drag and leaned his head back.

"Why am I such an idiot? Why do I always hurt the one person who knows how screwed up I am and still loves me?... I'm going to back their right now and fix everything." Don looked over at him.

"The sofa okay?"

"Yeah," Danny sighed. "The sofa's fine."


	8. I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today

**I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today**

_I don't want to talk about last night. I'm angry and I haven't had much sleep and I'm so tired and bloodshot, There ain't no telling what I'd say .Cause I don't feel like loving you today.- Gretchen Wilson, I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today._

Kate felt miserable. The whole thing replayed again and again in her mind like a scene out of some bad movie. She had arrived a little after midnight, after a good cry and a heart to heart with Aby, to an empty apartment. Danny never came home. She assumed that he crashed at Don's and tried not to worry as more time went by without a hearing a word from him.

Not that she really wanted to talk to him. Both had said too much last night. But she wanted to know that he was okay.

With a pounding headache and the feeling of being sick to her stomach refusing to leave her, she called into work and curled up on the couch. Things had gotten so out of hand so fast last night. Danny had reacted just the way she thought he would. And she didn't have the guts to tell him the truth. He wouldn't have understood anyways.

"Kate! You home?" Danny's voice rang out from the front door. She sat up as he entered the living room.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at work."

"I could ask you the same thing. I went by the hospital and Aby told me you were here." He came in and stood in front of her.

"Look Danny, I don't want to fight again." Kate stood and tried to walk away but he held her arm.

"I didn't come here to fight. I came to talk. More importantly, to listen." He declared sincerely. She shrugged him off.

"Well I don't feel like talking." She walked away into the kitchen. He followed.

"We need to talk about this. We need to get through-"

"I can't, Danny. I can't talk about that." She yelled as she slammed a mug down on the counter. "Did you ever stop to think about me? Did you ever think that the reason I didn't tell you, was not because was trying to hide it from you, but that, maybe I wasn't strong enough? Maybe I was just afraid of how you'd react... I guess I didn't need to be scared. 'Cause you did just what I expected."

"I didn't mean to overreact like that. It's just such a shock to find out that your mom is in an insane asylum."

"She's not in an asylum. She's in a mental institution. And she's not insane, she's bipolar. She was institutionalized because she is a danger to herself and others." Kate rubbed her temples. "God. You know, if she was going to tell you, she could have at least gotten it right." Her head was pounding so hard that the veins visibly throbbed. Danny placed his hands on her waist and pulled her back to him. She pulled away.

"I have to go get ready. Aby's rehearsal dinner is tonight." She muttered as she walked away from him.

"Kat, just wait a minute. I'm trying to make things right." He called out after her.

"You don't get it, Danny. It's not up to you to make things right." She was exasperated. Everything had just gone so wrong in the past 24 hours, and she didn't even know where to start to fix things.

"Kate," He reached out and took her hand but she pulled it back.

"No. Your pretty words can't help you this time."

_ I just don't feel like loving you today_


End file.
